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16 DAYSPA
|
JUNE 2016
TREND WATCH TREND WATCH
At Bellís Therapeutic Spa (bellistspa.com)
in Farmington, Michigan, the Refreshing
Retreat Package (120 min./$130) includes a
soothing sauna treatment, deep cleansing
facial, Swedish body massage and hot stone
foot massage. This comprehensive service
starts off in the sauna, where intense heat
readies muscles for a relaxing massage.
"Our clients love this package because it's
the complete spa experience, all wrapped
up into an affordable price," says owner
Brandi Ellis. In addition to relieving stress and
detoxifying the body, Ellis notes that saunas
are great tools for promoting weight loss—
a 30-minute session may burn up to several
hundred calories. Incorporating a sauna
component into Bellís Spa's service menu
has proven to be a worthwhile business
opportunity. "We often have guests who
come only for the sauna, but end up staying
for another treatment," explains Ellis. "Plus,
a sauna session can be added to any service
and generates revenue without tying up a
therapist's time."
To provide guests a traditional experience
of a Mexican sweat lodge,
Sense, a
Rosewood Spa at Rosewood Mayakoba
(rosewoodhotels.com)
in Playa del Carmen,
Mexico, boasts an authentic, dome-shaped
temazcal, meaning "house of heat" in the
Aztec language of Nahuatl. "A conventional
sauna is mostly powered by gas and steam,
whereas a temazcal experience is dry, created
using heated rocks, and the air is infused
with herbs and plants," explains spa director
Emmanuel Arroyo. Mayan Healing Hands
(6 hrs./$975), one of two temazcal offerings
at the resort, is a half-day experience billed as
a "once-in-a-lifetime journey." An individual
session with a shaman is followed by: an
energy-healing ceremony; a private bathing
ritual at the spa's cenote, a secluded Mayan
well; a 60-minute temazcal session; and
a 90-minute massage. "Temazcals are an
integral part of Mayan history," notes Arroyo.
"Clients appreciate the opportunity to learn
about, and participate in, native practices
while indulging in a luxurious spa experience."
Spa-goers can experience Russian wet and
dry saunas, a Turkish steam sauna and an
aromatherapy sauna (all-day admission,
$40) at Fair Lawn, New Jersey-based
BRC
Day Spa & Sauna Resort (brc-spa.com)
.
"Dry saunas have low humidity levels,
which allows clients to remain in the heated
space for longer," explains spa manager
Brian Bekkerman. Alternatively, wet saunas
enable guests to cool off slightly; visitors
may fill buckets of cold water to pour
over themselves, or soak a towel to wrap
around their head or limbs. These options,
says Bekkerman, appeal to a wide range
of needs and sensitivities: "Individuals can
receive healing heat in more than one way,"
he points out. One of BRC's noteworthy
treatments, the Broom Body Massage (15
min./$40), takes place in the sauna, where
the therapist uses an essential oil-infused
bundle of oak leaves and branches to
graze the skin. "This uplifting service helps
kill pathogens, open pores and improve
circulation," adds Bekkerman.
Sweat lodges and sauna-based treatment packages help draw out toxins
and draw in revenue.
By Pamela Brill
Some Like it Hot
PHOTO
COURTESY
ROSEWOOD
MAYAKOBA